Free Black Knight by Christopher Pike Page B

Alchemist be trying to get to Lara through Jessica? We know Syn tried a similar approach.”
    “That sounds logical,” Hatsu says.
    “Yes,” Cleo says. “But I don’t think he’s interested in Lara. Not at this point.”
    “How can you be sure?” I ask.
    “If the Alchemist wanted Lara, he would have taken her,” Cleo replies. “It’s as simple as that.”
    “And you wouldn’t have been able to stop him?” I ask, not happy we’re even discussing this possibility. Cleo gives me no comfort.
    “Doubtful,” she says.
    “Do you know the nature of the trial I’ll have to go through if I decide to take over the Lapras?” I ask; and I’m sure no one in the room misses my emphasis on the IF word. Cleo takes a long time to answer my question.
    “We’ll just have to wait and see,” she says.
    For perhaps the first time since I met her, I feel she is lying to me. The thought disturbs me deeply. Plus it’s hard to sit so near her powerful gaze. Once again I stand and pace around the living room. Cleo’s made a convincing argument for why I must obey her, but I still feel far from satisfied with her explanations and the control she wants to take over my life.
    “One thing makes no sense to me,” I say. “Why would the Alchemist bring Syn and Kendor from the past to help prepare me to fight to take over the Lapras? He must know I’d never listen to a word that witch-bitch has to say.”
    “The Syn you knew was a bitch,” Cleo says. “The person Kendor met and married was a lovely woman. And a powerful witch.”
    “My God, I didn’t think of that,” I say. It takes a moment for the implications of what Cleo is suggesting to sink in; and when they do they are so staggering, I fear even to speak them aloud. There’s no need, though—I know Hatsu and my father grasp them the same instant I do.
    Nevertheless, Hatsu does give voice to what we all fear.
    “If the Alchemist has managed to transport an earlier version of Syn from the past, then she’ll have no idea the monster she’s going to change into during this time,” Hatsu says.
    “What a disturbing thought,” my father says quietly.
    Cleo sighs softly. “Who knows? It might be a blessing in disguise.”
    Our meeting ends on that note—almost. Cleo orders me to return to the Alchemist and accept his help and I agree. Well, sort of; I nod my head without meeting her eyes.
    My father gives me a ride back to the airport instead of Hatsu. We drive for a while without speaking—my dad isn’t the most talkative man. The anger I felt toward him earlier has evaporated. It’s soothing being in his company.
    Almost, I tell him about the dream I’ve been having every night about Marc Simona. Something holds me back and I feel it must be my intuitive witch gene because I want to share the puzzle with him. But I feel if I do I’ll regret it later.
    “Have you recovered any new memories about Jessica?” my father asks when we’re near the airport.
    “A few. I pick up glimpses of me and Russ hanging out together. I never knew the two of us were so close.”
    “You were friends. He was a great guy.”
    “Yeah.” The sorrow comes quick. “And I had to be the one who killed him.”
    “You know it wasn’t that way. He sacrificed his life for you and Lara.” My fathers adds, “Any other memories?”
    “A few, nothing important.”
    “There’s no hurry. I took a long time to recapture my witch-world memories. It must run in the family.”
    I smile. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”
    “How’s James doing?”
    “Fine. But now the role’s reversed from when he couldn’t get into witch world. Now he can’t get out, and it drives him nuts that he can’t see his son.”
    My father hesitates. “You haven’t told him about Huck?”
    Minutes before I killed Kari—Huck’s mother and Jimmy’s ex-girlfriend—she bragged to me that she’d had lots of lovers and that it was possible Huck didn’t even belong to Jimmy.
    At